What is the Rome Jubilee?

If your travels take you to Rome this year, you may be wondering what is the Rome Jubilee? And how will it impact travel plans?

The Jubilee of 2025 began on December 24, 2024 with the opening of the Holy Door in Rome and will last until January 6, 2026, the day of the Epiphany celebration in Italy.

During the Jubilee Year, the Catholic Church offers the faithful the opportunity to obtain plenary or absolute indulgence, that is, the remission of sins for themselves or for deceased family members.

In Catholic doctrine, the Jubilee is a very important event, during which the faithful from all over the world are encouraged to go on a pilgrimage to Rome. For pilgrims, it is also an opportunity to undertake a spiritual journey that allows them to visit the various papal basilicas and the traditions of the Jubilee.

Religious Ceremony – Opening of the Holy Door

The opening of the Holy Door is certainly the most emotional and well-known rite of the Jubilee. This Door is opened only during the Jubilee year and the 4 main doors are the major basilicas of Rome: Saint Peter’s, Saint Mary Major, Saint John Lateran and St. Paul Outside the Walls. The first Holy Door to be opened is Saint Peter’s Basilica. During the following days the remaining doors are opened, which remain open until the completion of the Jubilee.

If originally the arrival in Rome guaranteed the pilgrims the forgiveness of all sins. Today the Jubilee has become more of an event to strengthen the bond between the faithful and the most important places of worship of Catholicism. It is a special time in Rome that happens once every quarter century, or 25 years.

Rome Jubilee – Jewish Origins

The Catholic Jubilee descends from a Jewish holiday and origins during which, originally, all debts were cancelled and slaves were freed. The origin of the word “Jubilee” is Hebrew and derives more precisely from the word “yobel”, that is, the horn blown to signal the beginning of this Jewish holiday.

The first Jubilee of the Catholic Church took place in 1300. However, it was decided that the central event of the Holy Year was not the cancellation of debts, as in the Jewish Jubilee, but the plenary indulgence, that is, the exceptional possibility for a faithful to obtain the forgiveness of his sins and the related consequences.

History of the Rome Jubilee

Since 1300, ordinary Jubilees have followed one another at more or less regular intervals, since 1475 the ordinary Jubilee has been celebrated every 25 years. However, the Pope has called an extraordinary Jubilee for a particular anniversary. The last Jubilee was called in 2015 by Pope Francis to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the end of the Second Vatican Council. A period of reforms that sought to modernize some aspects of the Church. The last ordinary Jubilee was held in 2000 with Pope John Paul II.

The Jubilee is for Rome not only an important religious event, but also an event with a great economic impact. For this reason, the organization of the Jubilee is not only the Catholic Church. All the events of the Jubilee 2025 have been approved and agreed upon together with the Italian government, which has allocated a total of more than 1.7 billion euros for interventions in Rome. These are operations linked to the redevelopment of public spaces (such as the squares of the papal basilicas that will be at the center of the Jubilee rites), to the strengthening of transport or to the increase in tourist facilities and pedestrian spaces.

Travel to Rome during the Jubilee

These interventions are managed and coordinated by the mayor of Rome. The Italian Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport has predicted that the Jubilee will bring 35 million visitors. The economic impact is estimate to be 17 billion euros to Rome alone, but this was before the death of Pope Francis. The numbers could also grow both in view of the funeral and the election of the new Pontiff, Pope Leo XIV.

Of course, the Vatican will also benefit from the economic impact of the event. The dicastery for evangelization has collaborated with an advertising agency to create a marketing campaign for the Jubilee 2025. It is complete with logo, mascot, official song and various gadgets to buy for pilgrims and others.

It will be a special time in Rome during the Jubilee celebrations, remember to book your flights and hotels ahead of time to ensure you get a fair price.